The President's Corpse

Even though it was daytime, the corridors of the Living Person Apartment were pitch black. Walking through them felt like being inside a giant coffin.

The youth named Jiangyang, with his dyed silver hair and black jacket, kept his eyes narrowed when looking at people, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

After Shata and Yusheng left, he stayed behind to show Gao Tian the rooms:

"Currently, the rooms available are on the second and third floors. Most residents choose the second floor because the third floor is too close to the fourth. Even if the ghosts can't come down from the fourth floor, not many people want those filthy things living on their ceiling."

Gao Tian remembered that Yusheng had said the little girl went upstairs because she heard her "family" on the fourth floor calling her.

He inquired:

"If you live on the third floor, can you occasionally hear the murmuring from the fourth-floor residents?

"Can ghosts use some sort of pattern to make third-floor residents who hear the sounds become dazed and walk up to the fourth floor?"

Jiangyang, walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

He turned his head and looked at Gao Tian:

"Shata, Yusheng, and I, the three apartment managers, all live on the third floor.

"Sometimes during the day, Shata and Yusheng say they hear some movement from the fourth floor, the sound of people walking, and voices talking.

"Maybe because I sleep like a log, I've never heard anything.

"As for being tempted to go up to the fourth floor, that hasn't happened. The apartment rules are absolute; any ghost's abilities on the fourth floor have no effect on third-floor residents.

"The second-floor rooms are hard to get. If you want one, go down now, or new residents might choose them before you, and you'll have to live on the third floor."

He fully expected Gao Tian, having heard about the strange occurrences on the third floor, to choose the second floor without hesitation. But to his surprise, Gao Tian thought for a moment and declined Jiangyang's kind offer:

"I think I'll live on the third floor.

"If the Living Person Apartment can guarantee that this floor is also absolutely safe, then I'm very interested in hearing what the 'residents' on the fourth floor say in the middle of the night."

In the end, Gao Tian chose room 313. After receiving the key, Jiangyang gave him a sly smile, offered a few more instructions, and left the third floor.

The rooms in the apartment were quite spacious, with a single bedroom, a living room, an open-plan kitchen, a bathroom with separate wet and dry areas, and a fully enclosed balcony. It had all the necessary rooms and was much better than the residential building Gao Tian lived in himself. The refrigerator was also packed with food, and the cabinets were filled with brand-new toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, and all other daily necessities.

Gao Tian walked to the bedside. On the nightstand, there was a pure black hard card. It felt smooth in his hand, somewhat like a VIP card, made of an unknown material.

On the back of the black card, only the two small white characters "Gao Tian" were deeply imprinted. There was nothing else.

This was the reward Shata had mentioned, the black card, obtained after visiting the fourth floor once.

Gao Tian lay down on the soft, large bed. A deep sleepiness washed over him like waves.

For one night and then into the day, he faced two supernatural incidents consecutively. When confronting these foul things, Gao Tian was in a state of extreme tension, his nerves taut, and he didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue. Only after confirming that everything had concluded and the surrounding environment was safe did the highly stimulated nerves throughout his body finally begin to relax slowly, unable to hold on any longer.

Gao Tian wasn't made of iron, after all. He still needed normal sleep and rest.

Soon, without even taking off his shoes, he was fast asleep on the bed like a log.

When he woke up again, it was already around five or six in the evening.

The sky outside the window had already turned somewhat dim.

What woke Gao Tian wasn't just his natural biological clock, but also the constant ticking sound of incoming messages from his phone.

Someone was sending messages.

Gao Tian immediately sobered up and, without hesitation, opened his phone to check.

What he was most worried about was that another ghost had started speaking in the "Jialan Society" group. He was the only living person mixed in with dozens of ghosts in this group, and there was also a ghost with an exaggerated sense of intuition, the Ghost Cave. He could be locked onto and found at any moment.

This time, he had personally accepted the Black Packet from the Ghost Cave and had barely survived. He didn't know if he could temporarily escape this calamity and dispel the Ghost Cave's suspicion.

With a nervous heart, Gao Tian clicked open the chat group.

[Ghost Infant]:

Hello, hello, hello.

@Ghost Cave

A day and a night have passed, why hasn't anyone died yet?

After all, everyone here followed your instructions and accepted the Black Packet.

Where are the living people?

[Living Person Apartment]:

The chat group is entirely filled with ghosts. No living person has managed to sneak in.

Every user who applied to join the chat group has been confirmed by me. If they were living, I would have rejected them long ago.

[Ghost Infant]:

Hahahaha. This is hilarious.

This guy was actually pitting his wits against thin air for an entire night.

[Ghost Cave]:

Indeed, a night passed, and not a single person died.

Could it be that I was just being overly cautious, and this chat group is completely normal?

[Ghost Infant]:

Of course, you idiot.

[Ghost Cave]:

But I still feel like something is wrong.

No, this living person is still alive.

Believe me.

I can sense it, right at this moment, he's watching our conversation. Not saying a word, perhaps inwardly gloating, laughing at us fools.

Something must have gone wrong. Let me think, where is the flaw?

[Living Person Apartment]

That's enough.

We still have many things to do. We didn't create this chat group for you to play spy.

[Ghost Infant]

Exactly.

Ghost Cave, being mocked by this group, stopped speaking. It seemed like he had given up.

This round had finally passed, albeit barely.

The long-silent Ghost Cave finally sent a new message.

[Ghost Cave]:

Alright, maybe I was wrong this time. There's no so-called living person in the group, and I've wasted everyone's time.

However, these are extraordinary times, and it's better to be cautious.

The group owner "Living Person Apartment" sent a Black Packet.

[Ghost Infant]:

What's up? @Living Person Apartment

Boss, why send a Black Packet out of the blue without a word?

[Living Person Apartment]:

Don't just claim this Black Packet carelessly. If you claim it, you have to do something for me.

@All Members

My corpse is still at Sapphire Mall, and that pot is at my Old Home.

If the corpse isn't dealt with, it will undergo Corpse Transformation very soon. It might even go to my Old Home to find that pot.

[Ghost Infant]:

Why do you still care about such trivial matters?

Let the corpse at Sapphire Mall undergo Corpse Transformation. If it wants to go to your Old Home to get the pot, just let it.

Anyway, we don't have much time left. Everything will end in a few decades.

[Living Person Apartment]:

No, the corpse I left behind must be dealt with.

I died rather suddenly. I made hasty arrangements before I died. It's a miracle it remained undiscovered for two years in that busy mall, hidden by special means.

I'm just afraid that someone from that old apartment might still be alive. They could recognize my true identity from my corpse and follow it to find the pot at my Old Home. That would be troublesome.

[Ghost Infant]:

How small is the probability of something like this happening?

Didn't you say that no one could walk out of that apartment alive except you?

[Living Person Apartment]:

Even the smallest possibility must be nipped in the bud. Everything will end in a while.

[Ghost Infant]:

What a shame. After taking your Black Packet, how many days do I have to complete the task?

My corpse has been submerged in the deep lake for some time, so I can't get to Shanghai City for now. If I were to take on this mission, it would take at least a month.

[Living Person Apartment]:

Absolutely not.

The sooner the better, preferably departing tomorrow. Get rid of the corpse I left at Sapphire Mall as quickly as possible.

The best way to handle it now is to use my main weapon, the one I always used when I was alive, and insert it into the corpse. It will sense a familiar aura and be able to seal it for a while longer.

[Ghost Cave]:

Brother Yuan.

To deal with that corpse left in the human world, you're even giving away that important item your teacher left you as a Black Packet?

(Gao Tian's pupils contracted into two points in surprise when he saw the words "Brother Yuan.")

[Living Person Apartment]:

It's not that important. My teacher spent fifty years without uncovering the secret contained within this Supernatural Item. My wisdom and experience are less than a tenth of my teacher's, so I wouldn't be able to figure it out even in a hundred years.

As long as its secret isn't unraveled, this Spear is just a complete piece of junk.

[Burning Death Ghost]:

I might have time in a week.

Old man, where in the mall did you leave your corpse? Once found, do I just insert your main weapon into it to dispose of it?

[Living Person Apartment]:

Ghost Cave, do you have any free time these few days?

[Ghost Cave]:

I do have time...

I've been feeling rather lazy lately. Shanghai City is too far away, and I don't really feel like coming.

Mainly, my body has rotted to a high degree. Whenever I move, flesh just keeps falling off onto the ground. I can't use human transportation along the way, so just walking to Shanghai City isn't very realistic.

[Burning Death Ghost]:

Hey!

Hey!

[Living Person Apartment]:

If I can't find anyone for now, then forget it.

I still have about a week left, so I can move around for a bit. I'll go myself then.

From this piece of information, it can be deduced that the real name of the Living Person Apartment contains the character "Yuan," and Xu Yuan also has "Yuan" in his name. Moreover, both of them have been to the Living Person Apartment and left alive. If all of this is explained by coincidence, it would be too far-fetched.

Gao Tian was 99% certain that the real name of the Living Person Apartment was Xu Yuan.

In addition, looking at the Black Packet from the Living Person Apartment in the chat group, which no one dared to claim yet, Gao Tian's hands started to itch.

He wondered what the Black Packet sent by the Living Person Apartment contained, intended to entice other ghosts to help him complete his mission.

However, Gao Tian was not so reckless as to accept this Black Packet in front of all the ghosts. The Living Person Apartment had stated that any ghost who accepted the Black Packet must help him complete this mission.

Suddenly, a rather rash, even crazy idea popped into Gao Tian's mind:

Why not?

He wanted to investigate the truth about Xu Yuan (the Living Person Apartment), and now, Xu Yuan's corpse was right in front of him. Was there a better opportunity than this?

Moreover, he was already inside the Living Person Apartment. In the worst-case scenario, if the Ghost Cave discovered him, what could they do to him?

What's more, what was the main weapon they were discussing, the pot?

Gazing at the records in the chat group, Gao Tian fell silent. The scales in his heart began to tip towards taking action, but his cautious nature made him hesitate.

Just as he was weighing the pros and cons, a knock sounded at the door:

"Are you there?"